Total U.S. jobless rolls drop sharply, to nearly 6.7M

The total number of people on the unemployment insurance rolls dropped for the first time since early January while new claims for benefits rose slightly. The Labor Department said Thursday that the total unemployment insurance rolls fell by 148,000 to 6.69 million in the week ending June 6, the largest drop in more than seven years. The decline is a sign that layoffs are easing. The Labor Department said employers eliminated 345,000 positions in May, about half the monthly average of jobs lost in the first quarter. Among the states, Pennsylvania reported the largest increase in initial unemployment claims for the week ending June 6. Arkansas had the largest decrease of 1,206. The next largest drops were in Puerto Rico, Wisconsin, Arizona and Nebraska.